Aesthetics and context are just as important as mechanics in creating a game, more or less so from game to game.

However, for this jam there will be none of that! 

Every game looks the same. A basic geometric shape with one or two colors. 

Where each game differs is how the block moves. The game should be entirely focused on creating interesting/fun platforming mechanics. 

1. The game should be created within the time limit. This includes assets. Logos are an exception. 
2. Teams are allowed.
3. Game's should ideally be playable in browser.
4. Game's should be in line with the jams concept. 
5. The game engine is your choice.
6. Art should be kept minimal. The character should be a simple shape like a rectangle or circle with preferable 1 or 2 colors (gradients are ok, as is changing colors). You can be a little lenient with these rules, particularly in regards to secondary elements such as enemies or level mechanics, in order to help convey what they are/what they do/to serve the core mechanics. You can also be lenient with effects (eg dust clouds). 

Rule 6 is obviously quite subjective, so as a rough guideline:

Note you probably wouldn't get kicked for doing something similar to the game on the right (Downwell) as it's still fairly minimal, but due to the textures, decoration and most of all the human player, you'd certainly score less in the "relevance" category. Keeping the player a simple shape is the most important in order to serve for an equal judging ground when evaluating the movement.

Ask me in the community tab if you have any questions, I'll get back to you and update this section with anything I missed.

There are two main approaches to creating interesting movement mechanics. One is to take a fairly standard movement system and add extra abilities such as hover jump or sticking to the ceiling. The other is to come up with something more fundamentally different. The first method is encouraged, though feel free to be lenient if it benefits your game. 

Rather than creating a single gimmick, consider multiple mechanics and how they can work together. Eg, look at how in the upcoming "King Of Cards", king knight's dash will lead into a spinjump if he hits something: 

Note that the dash and bounce would be fairly overdone concepts on their own, but bringing them together creates something new.

Extra elements such as enemies are encouraged only to compliment the movement focused game-play. You can be a little lenient with this.

Polish/juice is encouraged! EG, Having the shape morph to show motion or flash when performing a dash. HOWEVER, such polish should primarily exist to emphasize and give feeling to the platforming core. So dust particles for landing? Sure. Poof effect for enemies being destroyed? That's ok too. Fractal fireworks going off in the background? Maybe tone it down. 

In short, feeling good over looking good should be a guiding principle. A good video if you wan't some idea on how to approach this, it's a bit over the top but conveys the basic ideas:

Sound effects are highly highly recommended . If you've no idea how, you can create some half decent effects very quickly using this:

https://www.bfxr.net/

I've played game's w/o sound effects and I can't empathize enough how much difference it makes to the feel.

The homing attack in the modern sonic games allows you to home in on enemies, this can be chained together with other attacks to force the player to make quick decisions to stay in the air.

Spectre of torment does something similar, combined with it's wall run/jump mechanics. Here the homing attack can be done either diagonally upwards or diagonally downwards, meaning you have to wait and fall to get the right angle or attack immediately. 

Lilac of Freedom Planet has a number of attack/movement combos. Her cyclone act's as a floaty double jump and also a weak but multi-hit attack, her down kick gives her a good way to break out of a cyclone and deal damage downward quickly, and her uppercut acts as a quick simple way to attack enemies above without relying on the slow speed of the cyclone. 

Each of these has their own utility and flow well together given how flexible they are. 

Plague knight is capable of creating platforms in mid air, along with being able to throw bombs to float temporarily. 

An experimental Megaman project of mine, you can shoot out rainbow platforms. 

Prizes here

Concept - How strong is the idea behind the game? 

Execution - How well was the idea pulled off? Did it succeed at the jams objective? 

Polish - Does the game feel good to play? Polish in this jam should primarily exist to compliment the core mechanics, such as the block morphing and flashing with actions, so do not score additional points for less relevant flashy elements.

Relevance - Does it stick to the jams core? (see concept and guidelines)

All areas for judging are voted on openly so remember to vote on some entries when the time comes!